Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust
by AshleyofRavenclaw
Summary: She was the shining star in his torn life. She was the motivation for him to continue forward.


I found this story while looking through all the stories I have written in my documents. I completely forgot about it but I thought it was extremely beautiful. It's obviously AU but not too extreme. It takes place during the war.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter, Hogwarts, or any of the characters. Nor do I own any songs written by Joshua Radin (used as the first quote) or Colour Revolt. The songs I used in the writing are **Matresses Underwater** by **Colour Revolt **and **Don't Look Away** by Joshua Radin.

* * *

"Don't look away, if you do than I may. No one knows the truth, not even you." His words slipped from his mouth delicately, as if he were reciting the most beautifully written poem ever. He took his hand in hers, his grey eyes filled with tears and sincerity. "I love you, Luna. Please don't give up now." The small girl standing closely in front of him with a bruised face cried, shaking her head. The despondency written in her delicate features showed that she had been withstanding more pain than the average girl her age should be dealing with.

The tears that slowly trailed down her beaten up cheeks glistened in the moon light, it was as if small stars were ejecting from her frail body. The boy longed for her, he needed her in his life and when he saw her, she was a star. She was the shining star in his torn life. She was the motivation for him to continue forward. He had no idea what he would do if she gave up on their relationship, he would most likely lose himself, thus creating even more tension in the world that needed none but was already over the tipping point of pain and war.

"What do you mean that I don't know the truth?" she enquired, letting go of his hands and taken a small step back. To the boy, that tiny step meant more then what she intended. To him it appeared as if she were stepping out of his life. But didn't she know? Could she not see it for years now? His brown eyes looked into her green, as if he were trying to get into her soul and steal her back into his life. His trembling hands reached out for hers, only to be rejected. She was biting her soft lips, staring back at him, patiently waiting for him to answer.

_here are places__  
__Some of us can't face yet__  
__And even though we see it__  
__We just swear God's sleeping__  
__So we say,__  
_

"Luna," Neville whispered almost incoherently for her to hear, "don't you understand?" But he knew she couldn't fathom the thoughts he was uttering. Her tears were arising in her eyes once again, slowly retreating down the perfections of her beauty. Once again he stretched out his arm, but this time to wipe away her tears. "I apologize before I speak for even lunging into the subject," he knew right now wasn't the right time but he could not withstand seeing the pain she was bearing. He knew that she loved him, but he also knew that someone else loved her, which made all of the difference in the universe, because that someone was his best friend. Although it had been months since the breaking in their relationship, there was never a day that he did not regret letting her go. But he had to, there was no way a war was to be fought when he was holding onto a life as precious as hers while another loved her.

Regrettably, the girl that he put every dose of love and emotion into for over two years was not able to handle being apart as well as he ever imagined. There was not a day that passed by that she did not talk about fleeing from Hogwarts into Hogsmeade to fight first hand, she believed that she did not stand a chance. The sad truth was that she did not want to stand a chance. It was his job to protect her, but it was very impossible to do alone. It was only inevitable that over time he had to assign the job to someone that was less vulnerable to her emotions than he, someone that wasn't the face of the rebellion at Hogwarts. The only man that he had the confidence in to handle such a job was Seamus Finnigan, the someone that was his best friend. The someone that was the partial reason leading to their breakup. The someone that would never forgive Neville for Luna falling in love with. But now he could make up for it, it was his only chance. Not only would his best friend be happy, but he would be stronger, he was one of the few that stood a strong fighting chance. Not only was this a plan of love, but it was strategic. And never again would he hate himself as much as he did now for thinking of it in such a way. But it had to be done. Lives had to be saved. Loved had to be sought and forgot.

'_Ash to ash, dust to dust,__  
__We're all gonna die so we have to__  
__trust in something'__  
__But it's probably nothing__  
__There's gotta be something_


End file.
